Key events
85 min: Ouattara wins the ball off Foden before twisting and turning inside the box … but his shot goes wide of Ederson and the net. He looks lively though.
84 min: City bring on Kevin De Bruyne to rub it in.
83 min: Ouattara takes a wonderful first touch on the left from a fine Cook ball, setting himself up for a cross into the box … but he overhits it, much to the frustration of Semenyo.
Here’s Justin Kavanagh, both complimenting and not complimenting City: “Your job is probably safe for now, Taha, but maybe the multi-millionaire footballer of the near future needs to worry about AI taking over. After all, this City team has already shown us how football would be played by predictably brilliant yet strangely uncompelling humanoids.”
81 min: Doku has acres of space on the left but Alex Scott does well to block the winger’s shot. Corner for City.
79 min: Faivre replaces Senesi for Bournemouth.
Stephen Gannon writes in, presumably trying to cue up a Bournemouth equaliser. “People like to say the Premier League is the best league in the world, it’s so competitive etc. But we all know once Man City Score the game is over. I feel they’re the only team and (Leverkusen) that you can just right it off after they take the lead. Competitive, I think not!”
77 min: Adam Smith presses high to win the ball off Doku and drive forward, but the City winger runs back with him before bringing him down … no foul given though.
75 min: Haaland is off for Álvarez.
74 min: City play keep-ball in the middle before Haaland seems to be through on goal … but Kerkez does well with a sliding challenge to get in the way before Haaland’s eventual shot is saved by Neto.
72 min: Foden’s corner is deep but the City header doesn’t trouble Bournemouth. Stones win another corner after finding himself on the right wing.
71 min: Foden plays the ball back to Kovacic, who shoots inside the D and wins a corner.
70 min: Bournemouth are going for it, with Solanke’s shot blocked before Senesi gets a yellow for pulling back Haaland in City’s half.
68 min: Bournemouth make two changes: Kluivert is replaced by Scott; Tavernier by Ouattara.
67 min: Aké blocks Smith’s attempted cross. Corner for Bournemouth … and the header at the far post is saved brilliantly by Ederson! It was Solanke who got his head on it, and the ball is stopped on the line, with the keeper well behind it.
66 min: The corner doesn’t cause any further damage to Bournemouth. Dias appeals for a handball after a Rodri ball in, but the City centre-half committed a foul himself.
65 min: Doku gets his first go at Adam Smith out on City’s left after a delightful first touch to lay the ball down … and he wins a corner after Bournemouth shirts gang up on him.
63 min: Doku – who terrorised Bournemouth earlier this season – replaces Nunes for City.
61 min: Cute passes in the middle from City before Stones breaks free on the right, but his cross into the box causes little trouble.
59 min: Excellent hold-up play from Solanke in the box sees him pass to Tavernier for a shot from the edge … but he can’t properly threaten at goal.
58 min: Smith plays a long diagonal ball to try and find Kerkez, with Akanji getting in the way.
57 min: City’s supporters belt out Blue Moon as Bournemouth finally begin to threaten the visitors.
55 min: Semenyo skips down the right wing, beating Aké and launching a fantastic cross across goal, but the shot from Tavernier doesn’t get the desired connection and is heading wide before Dias heads away. Big chance for Bournemouth.
53 min: Akanji weighs a pass perfectly for Foden in the box, who laces the ball across goal … but there’s no one on the end of it to tuck in.
52 min: Haaland shoves away Zabarnyi with incredible power before getting away a shot in the box … which is blocked by the recovering Zabarnyi.
51 min: Kluivert launches a dipping effort from range, Ederson getting down to keep it out and hold on.
50 min: Bournemouth look a touch more confident on the ball, with Semenyo doing well to evade Rodri and play the ball out to the left before Kerkez, on the overlap, fails to get his cross right.
49 min: Foden is in disbelief that he hasn’t received a free-kick after going down in the D.
46 min: There’s a little break as Dias takes a tablet and a gulp of water on the touchline.
Back we go!
City kick-off the second half … away we go.
“I wasn’t suggesting you not writing,” Andy (from below) clarifies. “Just your writing converted. I feel your fear though.”
“Now that the game is effectively over, after that goal, and it’ll be pass, pass, pass, yawn, I have an idea to run past you,” writes Andy Tuohy. “Would the Guardian ever consider AI generated text to speech in their MBMs in the style of various commentators. Ken Wolstenholme? Alan Green? Even Barry Glendenning doing his own MBM. Pathé news for that Cholmondley Warner feel. With crowd and referee sound effects for goals and penalty decisions. I’d actually pay for that.”
As the pros say, that’s above my pay-grade. But also, please no, because I’d rather like to keep doing this for as long as possible before AI eliminates my usefulness.
HALF-TIME: Bournemouth 0-1 Manchester City
Thoroughly dominant work from the champions, with Phil Foden’s goal giving them the lead at the break. John Stones has been everywhere on the pitch while, paradoxically, chillin’.
45+3 min: No dice from the set piece but they come again, with Christie launching a shot from outside the box that forces a good save from Ederson, who moves to his left to push it away.
45+2 min: Bournemouth’s supporters roar as Kerkez wins a corner after Akanji block’s the left-back’s shot.
45+1 min: Stones clips a ball into the box from the right, which is screaming out for a header – but there’s no City shirt on the end of it.
45 min: Three minutes are added on.
44 min: Foden glides and shifts, getting another shot away in the box but straight at Neto. Nonetheless, the City midfielder has been on tonight.
43 min: OK, maybe not a shooting position as Nunes plays the ball out to the right for Bernardo to cross in. Nothing comes of it.
42 min: The corner doesn’t beat the near post, but Rodri goes on to win a free-kick from a central shooting position.
41 min: Kluivert drives forward for Bournemouth to get the crowd going, but City are on the attack again not long after, winning a corner for Bernardo to take …
39 min: Foden has a go at goal with the free-kick, trying a left-footed curler … but it goes high and wide.